1. Field of the Disclosure
This disclosure relates generally to patch installation, and more particularly to systems and methods for dynamically generating and executing context-specific patch installation instructions on a distributed computing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Deploying updates in computing systems often proves an onerous task. A variety of diverse subsystems, servers, computers, and other devices may be configured in countless different ways to create a particular computing system, leaving parties responsible for performing updates with the challenge of developing and executing an installation plan that is specific to the configuration of the particular system. Typically, an update, such as a patch, is provided with a generic installation procedure. This procedure may include many possible steps or instructions, some of which may be skipped, performed without effect, or performed differently according to the configuration of the particular system on which the patch is being deployed. Following such a generic procedure may lead to inefficient, if not incorrect, patch installations. Just as likely, a patch may require extra instructions not included in the given generic installation procedure. Without expert intervention, some patch installations may be too difficult for a system administrator to navigate and/or modify the given generic installation instructions.